I was just thinking about what it would be like to watch my kid playing football and being injured and all that. I don't think I'd like that very much. I mean, don't get me wrong. I watched my brothers play soccer years ago and they'd fall down, but that wasn't so bad. They weren't football players. I watched my girls play soccer a few years but I don't remember anyone ever getting hurt very bad. High school football, though, that's another story. There are some BIG guys out there. I think I'd just be sitting there praying the whole time that their injuries wouldn't be THAT bad. Like nothing permanent or enough to go to the hospital.
I think I've had enough of dealing with injuries with my cop husband. Fortunately, I haven't had to actually witness him be injured. I'm just there for the aftermath; the two elbow surgeries, the shoulder surgery, the two knee surgeries, the concussion from having the telephone pole shear off and land smack on his noggin in his cop car, the TMJ injury from that guy with the wacky last name kicking him in the jaw, can't remember what else. He's currently dealing with the two knee injuries. Actually, I suppose he's still dealing with the concussion, too, as he's had a recurrence in the last couple of days of his migraines. All things considered, though, things could be much worse. I'm thankful for him and for the job he does. Which reminds me, I need to post the final letter that was in the paper. Will get to that later. Emma's found some sour gummy worms. Need to rescue them . . . and her.
Aug 31, 2007
Aches and Pains and Growing OldER
I was reading one of my regular blogs (she's pretty much the only regular one outside of the family) this morning and her comments inspired me. I'm sitting here in my wonderful glider (NOT a rocking chair --heehee--) watching Go, Diego Go with Emma and learning all about Maine Wolves. It's only about the gazillionth time I've seen this episode. Anyway . . . BabsRN was talking about having some aches and pains this morning and I discovered I had more to say than would be welcomed (in my own opinion) on anyone's blog. Don't want to be a Blog Hog. (And since I've never heard that term before, we will assume I just made it up.) ANYWAY . . . (sheesh, you'd think I could keep my brain on track for five minutes, wouldn't you?)
I've discovered that this sweet little person with whom I share my home and my life helps me by keeping me young. How can you be old when you have a two and a half year old alone with you for eight or ten hours a day, five days a week. (A rescue pack, coming to the rescue, humm, humm, humm, we're singing.) So what do I do with her all day? Yesterday she discovered all of my belts. I got them all organized, sorted, rolled up and then put away in one of those hanging shoe organizers (the ones with all the pockets for pairs of shoes) and, after I was all done, she proceeded to pull out every single one. She played with them and looked them all over and then she draped every single one over her shoulders and walked around the house. When she got tired of doing that, she picked out one particular belt and kept handing one side to me saying, "Hold it, Grandma. Hold it," and then, "Hang on tight, Grandma. Hang on tight." That provided a LOT of entertainment for her. I tired of it quickly, but not her. In fact, she picked them up again this morning and picked up where she left off.
I don't know about any other grandparents (mostly because we're the only ones in our group of friends and in both families), but temper tantrums aren't the crisis that they were when our kids were Emma's age. Yesterday she was having one, complete with throwing herself to the ground and kicking and screaming, while I was on my computer. I waited for her to work it out and noticed that she got really quiet. I looked down at her and she was just laying there. She did that for about fifteen minutes and then she just fell asleep right where she lay. That was cool. I love naptime!
Do I still have aches and pains associated with being older (NOT old!)? Of course I do. They're just lessened now by the joy of Emma.
Afterthought: How come all the humans on Sesame Street look so different now than they did when my kids were watching it? It hasn't been THAT long . . . has it?
Growing oldER is not so bad. Growing OLD, I imagine, sucks. Gotta make sure I try not to do that. OldER, ok. OLD, not so ok.
I've discovered that this sweet little person with whom I share my home and my life helps me by keeping me young. How can you be old when you have a two and a half year old alone with you for eight or ten hours a day, five days a week. (A rescue pack, coming to the rescue, humm, humm, humm, we're singing.) So what do I do with her all day? Yesterday she discovered all of my belts. I got them all organized, sorted, rolled up and then put away in one of those hanging shoe organizers (the ones with all the pockets for pairs of shoes) and, after I was all done, she proceeded to pull out every single one. She played with them and looked them all over and then she draped every single one over her shoulders and walked around the house. When she got tired of doing that, she picked out one particular belt and kept handing one side to me saying, "Hold it, Grandma. Hold it," and then, "Hang on tight, Grandma. Hang on tight." That provided a LOT of entertainment for her. I tired of it quickly, but not her. In fact, she picked them up again this morning and picked up where she left off.
I don't know about any other grandparents (mostly because we're the only ones in our group of friends and in both families), but temper tantrums aren't the crisis that they were when our kids were Emma's age. Yesterday she was having one, complete with throwing herself to the ground and kicking and screaming, while I was on my computer. I waited for her to work it out and noticed that she got really quiet. I looked down at her and she was just laying there. She did that for about fifteen minutes and then she just fell asleep right where she lay. That was cool. I love naptime!
Do I still have aches and pains associated with being older (NOT old!)? Of course I do. They're just lessened now by the joy of Emma.
Afterthought: How come all the humans on Sesame Street look so different now than they did when my kids were watching it? It hasn't been THAT long . . . has it?
Growing oldER is not so bad. Growing OLD, I imagine, sucks. Gotta make sure I try not to do that. OldER, ok. OLD, not so ok.
Aug 30, 2007
Okinawa, last ones
Kadena Air Base on Okinawa and sites around the island, WHERE WE WILL BE IN JUST SIX SHORT WEEKS!
Tunnels used by the Japanese during the Battle of Okinawa in April, 1945.
American Village
Kadena Marina
More of Okinawa
These are pictures Cherlyn took.
Kadena Marina
I think this is at or near the big aquarium. Not sure.
Cherlyn and Robert.
They get typhoons there! Cherlyn is a meteorologist so she's right in her element.
Blogs
My nephew, Jon, just posted a very nice post about the family. He's the one who, without his knowledge, I believe, really encouraged me to start blogging. I would read what he would have to say and then my brain would be bubbling and brimming with the flotsam and jetsam which I like to call, "my thoughts." So thank you, Jon, for your inspiration. I've gotten to know you better through your writings in the last few months than I did in spending time with you (rarely) the last ten years. So here are a few pictures of Jon, his sister, Jessica (who also has a blog), and two of my daughters, Cherlyn (blog) and Katie.
Our birthdays are April 8th and 9th so we usually try to celebrate them together in some way.
"The cousins," Jon, Katie, Jessica, Cherlyn
Jon and Cherlyn, just 4 months apart in age and great friends when they were little. Jon's older.
Jessica is a month younger than Katie and they are still really good friends, only now, instead of playing on swingsets together, they go to bars (when they can) and drive around late at night, and stuff.
Our birthdays are April 8th and 9th so we usually try to celebrate them together in some way.
"The cousins," Jon, Katie, Jessica, Cherlyn
Jon and Cherlyn, just 4 months apart in age and great friends when they were little. Jon's older.
Okinawa!
It is official! We're going to see Cherlyn (our eldest), Rob (her husband) and Bobby (their son; OUR GRANDSON!) in mid-October! I can hardly wait! 
They live on the island of Okinawa, a prefecture of Japan.
More photos later!
They live on the island of Okinawa, a prefecture of Japan.More photos later!
So Emma and I are out in our driveway this morning and I hear a rustling to the right of me. This doe was about 20 feet away. I know it's 20 because I was standing next to a 16 foot fence. I stood and took a few pictures of her.
Then, who should appear but one of her young 'uns. Again, just about 20 feet from us.
They were content to eat and just keep an eye on us . . . just as we were watching them.
"Gimme some of that.!" "No, it's MINE!"
Just to let you see how close they were at their farthest. Emma was waving this stick around and hitting the lower branches of the tree I was standing next to. Bottom line, she wasn't been very quiet. Didn't seem to trouble the deer, though.

Then, who should appear but one of her young 'uns. Again, just about 20 feet from us.
They were content to eat and just keep an eye on us . . . just as we were watching them.
"Gimme some of that.!" "No, it's MINE!"
Just to let you see how close they were at their farthest. Emma was waving this stick around and hitting the lower branches of the tree I was standing next to. Bottom line, she wasn't been very quiet. Didn't seem to trouble the deer, though.

Aug 25, 2007
Deer
You know, most people think of deer as those wonderful little Bambis that frolic through the woods and look so cute, wonderful and . . . natural. Me? They drive me up the wall! Not only have they been eating my garden for the last 13 years but lately they've taken to knocking down the fence around my chicken pen. Turns out they REALLY like egg layer crumbles. THIS time they knocked down an adjacent fence and gate along with the chickenyard fence. I spent the last hour and a half making a new gate, digging a hole for a new fence post, reattaching the wire, making a new entry for the yard and then reattaching the bamboo panels I have around one side of the chickenyard. Staple guns are wonderful little inventions. I used that because I have no idea where any of our nails would be. We have one doe in particular who seems to enjoy making this her nightly meal spot. I feel bad restricting her diet but . . . oh well. She's kind of funny. I saw her laying down (lying?) under a redwood tree yesterday. We were all outside doing things and she just stayed there and hung out. Usually they run at the slightest noise. Ah well, she must like us. (Or our layer crumbles!)
Aug 16, 2007
Just for fun
| This Is My Life, Rated | |
| Life: |  8.4 |
| Mind: |  6.7 |
| Body: | 6.6 |
| Spirit: | 8.4 |
| Friends/Family: |  8.1 |
| Love: | 7.3 |
| Finance: | 7.3 |
| Take the Rate My Life Quiz | |
Aug 13, 2007
Thank you
I'm going to use this as my "rough draft" for some points I want to make to our community. When it's finished and cleaned up, it'll be a letter to the editor.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank three very fine young men for their several years of self-sacrificing service to our community. CF, BP and RS just left W police department. C and B were both new to W, while R was born and raised here. They've all left in the last couple of months to pursue their law enforcement careers elsewhere. They've moved on to agencies where they will receive better pay at PD's where they will not be working for the lowest paying department in the county. They will be participating now in retirement programs where they won't have to worry about an income during their retirement years.
WPD's full staffing is ten officers and three sergeants. We now have three sgts., six officers and one trainee. Of the six officers, two are in background for other agencies and could easily be gone within a month. Unfortunately, when there are so few officers, everyone else has to work more hours to take up the slack. Sixty to seventy hour work weeks become the norm rather than the exception.
Counting C, B and R, we've lost 11 officers in the last four years. Thankfully, of those 11, 2 came back within a year. When we lost the others, JL, JS, EB, TS, JA, and JB, we lost a combined 36 years worth of experience. We lost two of the three people within the department with extensive investigative training and experience. We have one now. These officers, with their years of experience, and their proactive community based involvement, are missed every single day. Their departure was a terrible loss to our police department and to our community. B, C and R, we will miss you, too.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank three very fine young men for their several years of self-sacrificing service to our community. CF, BP and RS just left W police department. C and B were both new to W, while R was born and raised here. They've all left in the last couple of months to pursue their law enforcement careers elsewhere. They've moved on to agencies where they will receive better pay at PD's where they will not be working for the lowest paying department in the county. They will be participating now in retirement programs where they won't have to worry about an income during their retirement years.
WPD's full staffing is ten officers and three sergeants. We now have three sgts., six officers and one trainee. Of the six officers, two are in background for other agencies and could easily be gone within a month. Unfortunately, when there are so few officers, everyone else has to work more hours to take up the slack. Sixty to seventy hour work weeks become the norm rather than the exception.
Counting C, B and R, we've lost 11 officers in the last four years. Thankfully, of those 11, 2 came back within a year. When we lost the others, JL, JS, EB, TS, JA, and JB, we lost a combined 36 years worth of experience. We lost two of the three people within the department with extensive investigative training and experience. We have one now. These officers, with their years of experience, and their proactive community based involvement, are missed every single day. Their departure was a terrible loss to our police department and to our community. B, C and R, we will miss you, too.
Aug 11, 2007
Happy Birthdays
I'm a couple of days late but things have been rather hectic around here. 24 years (and 2 days) the most wonderful little bundle of joy burst into our lives in the form of our eldest daughter, Cherlyn. The ride's been bumpy and smooth and never a dull moment. I thank God for you every day.
You're a blessing to me and I'm thankful for you.
And I can't give you your birthday blessings without giving Bobby his! Happy Birthday, dearest little grandson! I look forward to the days when you will all live closer to us so we can actually see each other more than once or twice a year. I love you.
You're a blessing to me and I'm thankful for you.
And I can't give you your birthday blessings without giving Bobby his! Happy Birthday, dearest little grandson! I look forward to the days when you will all live closer to us so we can actually see each other more than once or twice a year. I love you.
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